Karen Berry, owner and publisher of In The Field magazine, has been named publisher of the Plant City Times & Observer and joined the ownership group of the three-year-old weekly newspaper.
Berry, a native of Plant City, will serve as publisher and oversee the operations of both publications.
“I’m really excited about this opportunity to be involved in two publications that serve two communities that I love — the agricultural community and all of Plant City,” Berry said. “I’m equally excited to be a part of a group of owners who are committed to publishing a newspaper for which all of Plant City can be proud.”
Said Ed Verner, Plant City businessman and one of the founding partners of the Plant City Times & Observer: “We are thrilled to have Karen join us and to be leading the Plant City Times & Observer. When we started this venture, our hope was to have a newspaper with strong, local content and deep, local roots. Karen brings those roots and the leadership skills we need to continue growing.”
Started in July 2012, the Plant City Times & Observer is a 15,000-circulation free weekly; it also publishes PlantCityObserver.com.
Berry founded In the Field magazine in November 2004. Since then, the publication has grown to two monthly editions, serving 70,000 readers primarily in Hillsborough and Polk counties. The magazine also has subscribers in Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands and Okeechobee counties.
Prior to founding the magazine, Berry served as an advertising representative for the Tampa Tribune, Plant City Courier and Bradenton Herald. Berry started her career at the Bradenton Herald, working with Bruce Faulmann, currently vice president of sales and marketing at the Tampa Bay Times, and later working with Faulmann again at the Tampa Tribune.
Faulmann represents the Tampa Bay Times as one of the ownership partners of the Plant City Times & Observer. Other owners include Verner, owner of City Properties and a director of Sunshine Bank; Nate Kilton, owner and president of Sedita Kilton Life & Wealth Management LLC and Sedita Kilton & Co., Certified Public Accountants, and immediate past chairman of the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce; Felix Haynes, retired president of the Plant City campus of Hillsborough Community College; and Sarasota-based Observer Media Group, publisher of nine weekly newspapers in Florida.
Berry is the daughter of Plant City natives, Al and Patsy Berry. Al Berry owned and operated a Plant City radio station, WPLA, for more than 35 years and recently stepped down after serving as a director of the Florida Strawberry Festival for 43 years.
